The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations has demanded Israel be prosecuted by the World Criminal Court for killing 15 people on Tuesday.
Mr Nasser al-Kidwa addressed the UN Security Council and said the air attack on Gaza City was the first war crime to have been committed since the International Criminal Court (ICC) was recently set up.
Saudi Arabia, the current chairman of the Arab group at the United Nations, called for the emergency council meeting, with more than 35 speakers, to condemn the raid that killed a wanted Hamas leader and 14 others, including nine children on Tuesday.
Arab ambassadors want the 15-member council to adopt a resolution demanding the "withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from Palestinian cities."
US officials said Washington would oppose the draft if put to a vote, but Western diplomats said revisions of the document might yet mean adoption before the end of the week.
Israel's deputy ambassador, Mr Aaron Jacob, expressed regret at the deaths but said the action was precipitated by the failure of the Palestinian Authority to stop "one of the most prolific and brutal terrorists," Mr Salah Shehada, the target of the attack.
Syrian Ambassador Mr Mikhail Wehbe, holding up pictures of wounded children, said Israel had committed "massacres" against Palestinians almost since its inception.
The Irish ambassador John Ryan said an attack of this sort was bound to cause casualties. "To suggest anything otherwise is disingenuous".